The Pettys are the closest to a royal family in the world of NASCAR. Beginning with the ignition key of Lee Petty in the 1950s, the torch was handed off to Richard Petty and then his son Kyle Petty. A significant storyline that this dynasty brought to the game apart from an incredible showing of speed was the complex relationship between father and son.
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After nearly four decades of highs and lows between them, Richard and Kyle sat down together on “Dale Jr. Download” to be interviewed by Dale Earnhardt Jr. and opened up their hearts about their relationship. Kyle noted how the different roles that he’d played for his father from his childhood till now have come an entire circle and made them closer now than ever before.
“There’s a period in my life, I was Richard Petty’s son,” he said. “And then there was a period of my life when I worked for Richard Petty. And then there was a period when I was teammates with Richard Petty. And then there was a period when I was a competitor. And then I gave that up and I was his business partner. When all that changed and went away, I became his son again.”
He continued to note that he would never get to experience this timeline with his son, Adam Petty, who passed away in a racing incident in 2000. Richard and Kyle have had quite their share of issues with each other over the years. Kyle not taking well to Petty Enterprises being merged with Gillett Evernham Motorsports in 2008 is a pretty good example of the same.
What forced the Petty family to stick together despite professional divisions?
Away from the 2008 merger that ousted Kyle from his Petty Enterprises ride, thorns struck him again when Richard Petty Motorsports failed to inform about AJ Allmendinger sporting a retro scheme in the 2009 Daytona 500 that paid an ode to his first-ever victory. He told the press that he was hurt by being ignored in such a decision and that he would not be able to get over it for a while.
Amid all such snags, it was the words of Lee Petty that kept the father-son duo together. Kyle said in a 2010 interview with ESPN, “My grandfather started this. There is business and then there’s family. You can argue all day long at the track. I don’t have to like the decisions you make. I don’t have to like how you’re doing something.”
He continued, “But when it’s Christmas, it’s time to be family again. When it’s your birthday, it’s time to be family again.” At ages 83 and 67, Richard and Kyle are certainly a family once again. In the tailing laps of their long journey, the Pettys look back at an everlasting motorsports legacy that they created through all the highs and lows they shared.
